How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game

Chapter 500: Helping Juniors Interlude

”You know, Vanny... they say Stacia hasn’t really been spending time with her other classmates lately,” Emilia said quietly, her breath forming a soft puff in the cold air. ”Reina and Uriel told me.”

Vanessa didn’t look too surprised.

She took a bite of her sandwich before replying, ”Isn’t that kind of natural? All of us in the specialized courses have to train closely with our seniors. Even me, Reina, and Uriel aren’t exempt from that. Though... Flamme’s a bit of a special case. She just casually ignores her assigned senior. I actually feel bad for him—he seems like a decent guy, too.”

”I-I see...” Emilia hesitated, fidgeting with the edge of the sandwich wrapper in her lap. ”But... Stacia’s training partner—her mentor—is Senior Riley, right?”

”Yes.” Vanessa turned to her. ”Is that a problem?”

They sat quietly on the old stone benches in the central square park of the academy.

The area was mostly empty, a rare pocket of peace in the middle of campus.

Snow still lightly covered the ground, but the breeze carried the faint scent of spring.

Both girls wore light inner outfits that didn’t fully match the weather, but they didn’t seem to mind.

Vanessa’s long hooded cloak still covered most of her figure, shielding her from the cold.

Classes had just ended for general department students like Emilia.

Unlike Emilia, who didn’t have daily training, Vanessa had much free time since she only meets with her assigned senior mentor on weekends.

That gave her more time during the weekdays to spend with her best friend like this.

For reference, her training mentor was none other than Princess Snow herself—a fact Vanessa considered both an honor and a bit surreal, even though she was already recognized as a high-class mage.

Emilia, her dark hair slightly loose and swaying with the breeze, had her blue eyes locked onto her sandwich.

Her fingers held it still, unmoving, as a faint pink slowly bloomed across her cheeks and even touched the tips of her ears.

At Vanessa’s calm response, she shifted a little in place, hesitating before murmuring,

”N-No, not really... it’s not a problem, but... haven’t you heard the rumors?”

Vanessa tilted her head slightly, brushing a crumb off her lap. ”What rumors?”

”Uhm...” Emilia lowered her voice, glancing around as if making sure no one was nearby. ”I’m not exactly sure, but... people have been talking. They say whenever they see Stacia around, she always looks kind of... tired. Like, really haggard and out of it. Some say she limps a little... and there’s a faint blush on her face—sometimes even bruises here and there. And... like she’s someone whose lower abdomen’s been, uhm... abused...?”

She trailed off awkwardly, her voice turning into a whisper by the end. The air between them grew still for a second, only the soft rustling of early spring wind brushing against their coats.

Vanessa blinked once, then leaned back a bit on the bench, looking up at the cloudy sky as she thought about it.

For someone like her—an elf—gossip and rumors were more or less treated the same way as a fairy’s mischief: baseless noise, rarely worth paying attention to.

She wasn’t the type to let idle chatter bother her.

That is, unless it involved certain people she took an interest in.

After a moment, she replied calmly, ”Hmm... I can’t say much, since I’m not part of the knight department. But honestly, doesn’t that kind of outcome sound... normal?”

She glanced at Emilia.

”Physical training, especially sword-focused ones, almost always leads to that sort of damage. Cuts, bruises, overworked muscles, exhaustion—it’s part of the process. I don’t know what kind of training Senior Riley does exactly, but even if it’s intense, isn’t that just what comes with being a swordsman?”

She shrugged, clearly not finding anything strange about it.

”But... still,” she added, raising an eyebrow slightly, ”why would people be interested in making a rumor out of that? Feels like they’re just being nosy.”

”Uh, well... that’s true but... uhm...” Emilia fidgeted with her fingers, her voice growing smaller. ”They also say that sometimes... they’ve seen Senior Riley and Stacia going off into the woods together. Just the two of them... alone...”

She paused, clearly embarrassed, her face heating up even more.

”And, well... weird noises sometimes come from the woods when they’re in there...”

Her words trailed off into a nervous mumble. The tips of her ears were now fully red as she glanced at Vanessa with an unsure expression.

Vanessa blinked at her, then sighed, rubbing her temple slightly.

”You’re... more lecherous than I thought, Emmy.”

”Wha—?! I-It’s not like that!” Emilia’s voice jumped up in pitch. ”It’s just—t-the rumors have been getting really out of place, s-so I—I was just...”

”Hahaha, I know, I know,” Vanessa interrupted, a quiet laugh escaping her lips. ”Calm down. You’re just worried, right?”

”I... I am,” Emilia admitted, her shoulders slumping as she looked down at the sandwich now sitting forgotten in her lap.

Vanessa studied her quiet friend for a moment.

Despite how shy and proper Emilia usually was, it was painfully obvious to her that the girl was head over heels—whether she realized it or not.

And seeing her so caught up like this made Vanessa’s expression soften.

”Don’t worry, Emmy,” she said gently. ”I don’t know how true those rumors are... but at the end of the day, they’re still just that—rumors. And honestly, knowing Stacia like I do... I doubt her ’interest’ in Senior Riley is anything but that...”

Emilia looked up. ”O-Oh... I-I see...”

”Besides,” Vanessa added, raising an eyebrow, ”instead of worrying about how much time Stacia and Riley are spending together, shouldn’t you be more concerned about the fact that you haven’t made any kind of move at all?”

Emilia flinched. ”Y-You know the situation just doesn’t really—!”

Vanessa chuckled as Emilia began flailing with excuses again, clearly flustered.

.....

”Senior Riley... did you already do it with Senior Snow?”

”Phuack—!”

I choked, spitting out the water I had just been sipping from my canteen.

Cough—!

Cough—!

”What the hell are you talking about, junior?” I said between coughs, tapping my chest to clear my throat.

”I’m just asking,” Stacia replied calmly, like she hadn’t just dropped a verbal grenade on me, ”how far the two of you have gotten.”

I stared at her for a moment, still slightly wheezing. ”I don’t think that’s something you need to know, junior.”

”I see... sorry for asking, then,” she said casually, leaning back against the tree trunk.

She sat with one leg lightly crossed, resting on the large, thick roots of the old tree we usually used as our break spot.

Her butler stood nearby, silently offering her the small packed lunch he had prepared.

Stacia took a bite without much thought, her expression unchanged, like what she just asked wasn’t insane at all.

It was almost noon, and our daily training was about to wrap up, but the timing of her question caught me off guard.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my sleeve, still wondering—why bring up Snow out of nowhere?

Was she really that curious about my relationship with her?

”You know, Senior,” she said again, casually chewing as she looked off toward the treetops, ”I heard you were also involved with a bunch of other girls. Is that true?”

I narrowed my eyes slightly. ”Again, why are you suddenly interested in this stuff?”

She glanced my way. ”Nothing really. It’s just... ever since we started this mentor-mentee relationship, I noticed we’ve only ever trained together. We never really got to know each other properly. Wouldn’t it be better if we did?”

”And asking about personal matters is your way of doing that?”

”Maybe,” she said without a hint of shame. ”There’s not much else about you I can ask that isn’t already floating around in some rumor. So, I figured I might as well hear it straight from you. Besides, if it makes you feel better, you can ask me something personal too. Fair trade.”

This girl... she’s seriously blunt.

I stared at her again, this time in silence.

She didn’t seem embarrassed, not even a little. Her tone was calm, thoughtful even, as if this whole conversation was part of a perfectly logical plan to ”get to know me better.”

Ridiculous. But somehow, that’s just how she is.

Her butler, Skirt, gave me a brief look—measured, polite, and quiet—before offering a slight gentlemanly nod. Without a word, he turned and walked away, his steps slow and composed, giving us space.

I guess he’s not a top-tier butler for nothing.

I let out a quiet sigh in my head. There wasn’t really anything wrong with opening up a bit. Not anymore, at least. It’s not like I was going out of my way to hide it anymore.

”If you’re curious about my dating life,” I started, casually brushing the edge of my sleeve, ”then yes—it’s true. I’m dating multiple girls.”

Stacia blinked, clearly caught off guard. ”Wait... really? Is that okay? Is Senior Snow fine with it? you are dating her right?”

She tilted her head slightly, her long platinum blonde hair shifting as she stared at me in clear surprise. ”I mean, I know harems aren’t uncommon in the Germonia Empire, but there are still rules and regulations, aren’t there? Were you secretly from a high-standing noble house too, Senior?”

I shook my head with a slight smirk. ”Snow’s fine with it. And yeah, I’ve already gotten all the permissions I needed. Everything’s settled.”

”I see...” she muttered, eyes narrowing slightly in thought. ”To be honest, I was already half-believing some of the rumors about you, Senior. But to think they were actually true...”

”Most of them are exaggerated, trust me,” I replied. ”But if it’s about me dating multiple women... at the very least, that part’s real.”

”.....”

Stacia didn’t respond immediately.

Her expression turned unreadable for a moment as she stared at me.

Her crimson eyes lingered—silent, almost thoughtful.

After a pause, she gave a small nod.

”Then... it’s your turn to ask me something, Senior,” she said nonchalantly, popping a small bite of food into her mouth as if nothing just happened.

I looked at her, slightly troubled.

Truth be told, I already knew just about everything worth knowing about her.

After all, I did finish her entire character route in the game.

Background? Check. Personality quirks? Check. Dark secrets? Double check.

So there wasn’t much I needed to ask—at least, not anything normal.

But if I were to ask something now, it should be something that could change her future.

Something that could give her an edge—especially with Act 4 Chapters fast approaching.

And it won’t mess with her own personal arcs as well.

”Alright then, Junior...” I leaned back a little. ”Do you know how to open your mana core?”

She blinked at me.

Stacia looked at me, surprised.

Genuinely surprised.

It was clear she thought I was going to ask something more personal, like her hobbies or embarrassing habits or whatever.

I could see the curiosity forming in her eyes now.

Sure, it was still a bit early for her to learn about that in this timeline... but who cares?

May as well push her growth forward.

After all, I’m a kind and generous mentor.

Once she learns to open it she can save herself from the trouble of that clown demon.